Mandarin High School/Mandarin and Loretta areas (Jacksonville, St. Augustine: crime, attorney)

[lewoodpa]

Hello-

My husband recently started a job in St. Augustine and we came up as a family to look around the south Jacksonville area for a move this summer. We drove around the Mandarin/Loretta areas this weekend. We liked the natural beauty of the area, the A rated High School and access to restaurants, stores and Interstates 295/95 for my husband to travel to his job to St. Augustine. We saw there were a few new subdivisions as well as older homes in our $250-$300k price range.

We would like to hear what other people like and dislike about living in this area and about Mandarin High School. Any areas to stay away from for crime or for other reasons?

I will be looking for a part time job as an attorney and Jacksonville seems to hold better prospects for this than St. Johns County. We did look at St. Johns, but didn't like the very limited commercial areas.

Thank you for your help.

[EricBoyd]

We've lived in this area for a while and are very pleased with what it has to offer. While there are a lot of newer home communities (builders are still finding land to develop!), there are plenty of established neighborhoods, too. The city/state has done a good job getting the interchange projects done on Old St Augustine Rd, both at 295 and 95, so that makes travel much easier than it used to be. My kids are still elementary age, so I can't give any insight into the high school. Good luck with your home search!

[Robyn55]

I don't live in the area - but go to shop there once in a while (mostly at Whole Foods). The traffic on San Jose Blvd. can be pretty bad. Also - some of the low lying areas are prone to flooding. So - if you're looking at houses - keep your eyes open for that potential problem. Robyn